1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrophotographic reproduction apparatus and methods, and more specifically, to improvements in reproducing originals with color accenting or otherwise providing special treatment of highlighted information of an original document.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,043, there is described an apparatus for electrophotographically reproducing originals with color accenting. In this apparatus, an original document is located on a support and indicator members located adjacent the support adjusted to designate the location of lines to be reproduced in a first color and lines to be reproduced in a second color. The original is exposed onto a photoconductive drum and the lines of the electrostatic image of the original that are to be reproduced in the second color will be erased and the remaining image developed with toner of the first color color. A second exposure of the original is made on the photoconductor and the lines of the electrostatic image that are to be reproduced in the first color are erased and the remaining image developed with toner of the second color. The two developed images are transferred in register to a copy sheet to provide the reproduction.
It will be noted, however, that the indicator members must be associated with the support and the adjustments made while at the copying machine. It would be desirable to eliminate the necessity for the person who wishes the document to be edited to have to go over to the copier and painstakingly move indicators to identify the areas that are to be, for example, color accented.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,374 (Kurata et al) a picture data processing device is disclosed wherein edited reproductions of an original are made by reproducing or extracting only a selected portion of an original. A separate sheet referred to as a mark specifying original is employed to draw lines comprising boundaries for the extracted portion. The separate sheet is "read" by an image sensor and count value signals stored that are related to these boundary lines. The document sheet is then "read" by the image sensor. The data signal used to reproduce the original is inhibited by these signals except for the region which is to be extracted. A problem with this processing device is that productivity is substantially lowered by the requirement for use of a separate sheet with each original. Where is multisheet document is desired to be reproduced with selective editing desired for several sheets in the document the use of extra mark specifying sheets presents a burden since the sheets need to be identifiable with their respective original.
The invention pertains to an apparatus for reproducing a multisheet document, at least some of the document sheets having image information with accompanying indicia thereon indicating that such sheet is to be specially treated, the apparatus comprising:
an image recording member; PA1 an exposure station including means for serially exposing the recording member with image information on the document sheets without reproducing the indicia upon the recording member; PA1 scanning means for scanning each document sheet seriatim prior to exposing of same on the recording member for determining the presence or absence of said indicia on any document sheet and for generating a signal in accordance with such determination; and PA1 means responsive to said signal for determining the number of exposures of a particular document sheet at the exposure station with each document sheet receiving at least one exposure upon the image recording member. PA1 automatically feeding document sheets seriatim to an exposure station to serially expose a recording member with image information on the document sheets without reproducing the indicia upon the recording member; PA1 scanning each document sheet seriatim prior to exposing of same on the recording member for determining the presence or absence of said indicia on any document sheet and for generating a signal in accordance with such determination; and PA1 in response to said signal controlling the number of exposures of a particular document sheet at the exposure station with each document sheet receiving at least one exposure upon the image recording member.
The invention further pertains to a method for reproducing a multisheet document, at least some of the document sheets having image information with accompanying indicia thereon indicating that such sheet is to be specially treated, the method comprising the steps of: